HT4100 4.1, 4.5, 4.9 Discussion, Broken Upper Radiator Hose Connector in Cadillac Engine Technical Discussion; Folks,
A few months back I lost coolant when the neck on the LH radiator end tank broke off at ...

Broken Upper Radiator Hose Connector

Folks,

A few months back I lost coolant when the neck on the LH radiator end tank broke off at the top where the upper radiator hose connects. But it still had enough of a neck left that I've been able to make do by just pushing the upper hose onto it and tightening the clamp. Volai! right? Well, not really. The hose of course is now maybe as much as 2 inches short, and recently it's been prone to slip off. I reset it two nights when the engine was cool and really tightened the clamp -- now everything's fine again -- so my question is, isn't the solution to get a new LH end tank? Is it cost-effective these days to have somebody repair your radiator like that, or since it has 175K miles, just get a whole new radiator?

Re: Broken Upper Radiator Hose Connector

I have replaced the both end tanks because of cracks. Not a big deal, but time consuming. If you want to replace the tanks, replace the both. They are $30 each at gmpartsdirect.com AND come with all the necessary gaskets. YOu can probably get them fro a dealer, just let them know about the online price. If I were you I would just put new all metall aftermarket radiator for about $150.

Re: Broken Upper Radiator Hose Connector

I bought a new radiator for mine from www.rockauto.com It was about $130 shipped. To me, the price was low enough that I didn't think it was worth it to replace the tanks. It is also a fairly straight forward job to replace the radiators on these cars. My recommendation is to just replace it so you don't have to worry about it.

Re: Broken Upper Radiator Hose Connector

I broke mine too, Link to the part on gmpartsdirect? Cant find the side tanks for a 93 on them or rockautos site.

Anyone think a repair is possible by slipping a slightly larger pipe over it or inside it to extend it, an using strong epoxy to secure the two pieces of pipe. I still have a bit left, but dont think its enough to hold that long and I dont want to push my luck.

Re: Broken Upper Radiator Hose Connector

Originally Posted by behind-bars

I broke mine too, Link to the part on gmpartsdirect? Cant find the side tanks for a 93 on them or rockautos site.

Anyone think a repair is possible by slipping a slightly larger pipe over it or inside it to extend it, an using strong epoxy to secure the two pieces of pipe. I still have a bit left, but dont think its enough to hold that long and I dont want to push my luck.

Put an aftermarket radiator and you'll be happy. Your side taknks are weak because of age and will definitely develope cracks if they have not done that yet.

Re: Broken Upper Radiator Hose Connector

Originally Posted by HUF

Put an aftermarket radiator and you'll be happy. Your side taknks are weak because of age and will definitely develope cracks if they have not done that yet.

I bought a piece of pvc pipe and fit it over what was left of the neck, used pvc glue to attach it and it attached strong and leak free. However after renting a pressure tester I realize that was not cause of the leak originally. The front of my radiator side tank has a small crack in it which is where the leak is.

So now its time to search for the best deal on a new radiator, or repair of this one with new tanks. Really didnt want to go through this since the car is for sale, but guess its enevitable. She just broke so I would keep her for longer I guess....